"He certainly didn't have the fastest car": Former Red Bull driver claims Max Verstappen was the difference in many races for the team

Red Bull's first-ever driver, Christian Klien, recently spoke about Max Verstappen and how the Dutchman was the difference-maker in the 2023 F1 season. Verstappen won 19 out of 22 races in 2023 and obliterated the entire field, but Klien believes that his dominance was not particularly because the Red Bull RB19 was miles quicker than any other car on the grid.

In an exclusive interview with RacingNews365, he initially praised Verstappen for being consistently fast throughout the season. However, he later claimed that it was not easy for him.

Klien gave the example of the Monaco GP qualifying session and the second half of the 2023 season, where other drivers and cars were quickly catching up to the Red Bull driver.

The former F1 driver reportedly said that despite the pressure, it was Max Verstappen's excellence that allowed him to come out on top in most races.

"Incredible. Max was tremendously good and consistent. But it wasn't all a piece of cake for him," Klien said.

"Look at qualifying in Monaco, where he certainly didn't have the fastest car. During the second half of the season, the other teams were closer to him, especially in qualifying. He showed every time that he was on top of it and made the difference," he added.

Max Verstappen ended the 2023 season with a whopping 575 points, winning his third consecutive world title.

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Max Verstappen discusses his goal after he retires from F1

Even though Max Verstappen is quite young, the F1 world champion has already clarified that he won't be in circuits for long.

In an exclusive interview with Blick, he was asked whether he was planning to create a GT team. The Red Bull driver replied that it was his goal to pave a path for future talents. He also said that he does not want younger drivers to particularly prepare for F1, but to take part in other racing series.

"Yes, that's my goal. I don't necessarily want to drive myself, but I want to build something big, give the talents a chance. That doesn't mean I want to put them in Formula 1 but I want to help them in racing," Verstappen said.

"There are so many series in motorsport that you can have fun and success. And as a professional racing driver, you can also make a living from it. Not just in Formula 1," he added.

Max Verstappen himself takes an interest in all kinds of racing series apart from F1 and even frequently participates in virtual races with his eSports team, Redline.